Shadow of the Sheikah
by Xorclev
Summary: In the wake of Ganon's defeat, Princess Zelda is finally reunited with the brave yet silent champion Link. She has dreamed 100 years of this reunion, wondering what she would say to Link should she ever get the chance. Perhaps she would confess her love for the brave knight? She did not know until that very moment. And then her protector turned on her, attempting to murder her...
1. Chapter 1

**Shadow of the Sheikah**

A shimmering arrow flew from the Bow of Light as the champion Link delivered the final blow to the vile Ganon. Freed from her 100 years of imprisonment, Zelda raised her hand, calling upon the power of the Triforce of Wisdom. She could see the terror, the understanding in the monstrous eyes of the beast that had once been Ganondorf. Together, Link and Princess Zelda ended the Calamity as Ganon suffered his final death throes, thrashing and twitching in the sky. Attempting to somehow escape his fate, he crawled toward the clouds, toward the blazing sun and then he was gone. Hopefully forever this time.

"We've done it, Link," Zelda said breathlessly. For a century she had kept Ganon at bay, waiting for Link's return. She was beyond tired, even exhausted didn't quite encompass how she felt. "Ganon has been defeated…"

Now she could face her champion, now she could thank him properly for once. She had dreamed of this moment, when she could wrap her arms around the knight who had protected her until he was near the brink of death. She might even kiss him if she could work up the courage. He deserved at least that. And so the girl in white robes, smudge marks on her pale face and dirt in her golden hair, turned toward the silent champion.

She found him gazing at her with a sad look in his eyes and the Bow of Light aimed at her heart…

"Link, no!" she cried as he unleashed one of the blessed Arrows of Light. She winced, anticipating the pain that would soon follow. Instead she heard a familiar bellow, a man made of rock and light deflected the arrow.

"Run, Princess!" the spirit of the Goron champion, Daruk, hollered at her. She caught a glimpse of Link battling against the other champions or rather their spirits. The fish-like Mipha, the feathery Revali and the tall, tanned woman Urbosa circled Link, their shimmering forms flickering in the sunlight. For a moment, she thought she even saw the majestic yet thick form of her father as she ducked behind a tree.

Her thoughts raced as she hid to protect her life. Why had Link turned on her? What had she done? Before she could think of an answer, a loud gong resonated through the valley and a creature on tentacle legs with a crab-like metallic body approached. Its glaring red eye focused on her from its domed head, it locked onto her and a buzzing sound drowned out everything else. She knew this machination, it was a Guardian created by the Sheikah to protect the people from the Calamity but they had been subverted to serve the vile Ganon instead. The Guardian clearly intended to end her life and there was nothing that Zelda could do to stop it. She squinted her eyes shut and waited for the inevitable.

"Take this!" a voice cried and when Zelda reached down, she found a Sheikah Slate resting against her hip. She knew how to use the device, probably better than any Hylian in the land and so she teleported. Turning into the very essence of light, Zelda escaped to the only place she thought might still be safe in this world gone mad.

She arrived on a hilltop in front of a black and orange glowing structure, this was the Shrine of Ta'Loh Naeg. Zelda clambered down from the edge of the shrine and stood atop the hill, looking down onto a bustling village. Children played on the road, a dog barked at them playfully as they chased around a flock of chickens. It was Kakariko Village and it was a sight for sore eyes, she thought.

Zelda maneuvered her way down the path to the village, her sandaled feet easily traversed the steep trail. She passed silently through the village, no one seemed to take notice of her. Zelda paused before a set of wooden steps that led to a rectangular house atop another hill. A sleeping guard lulled near the base of the stairs, Zelda slipped past him and scampered up the steps. At the top, she allowed herself inside.

"Princess?" a shriveled elderly woman called from her perch.

"Impa!" Zelda cried as she fell to her knees at the old woman's feet. She had thought only of Kakariko Village and the woman who had been her guide before and after the Calamity befell Hyrule.

"What has happened?" Impa asked, her voice trembling whether from concern or old age Zelda could not be sure.

"It's Link. He's…he's gone mad!" Zelda cried, tears rolling down her cheeks. The princess felt embarrassment when she imagined how awful she must look.

"Rise, child, do not grovel. Tell me what has happened, please…" Impa said. Sniveling, Zelda wiped away the tears but it took some time before she could speak. Finally when she had calmed, driving away the terrible memory of Link's betrayal, she told Impa what had happened.

"He…he tried to kill me," she said at the end of her tale. Impa looked at her with her pale blue eyes, almost hidden beneath a wrinkled brow. Her white hair hung about her face in wild tangles. Impa had been old before Zelda began her century long fight with Ganon but now she seemed almost ancient.

"This is most disturbing," the old woman finally whispered and then she looked away from Zelda and toward the door. Zelda followed her gaze and discovered a young woman with white hair lingering in the doorway.

"Paya! How long have you been eavesdropping?" Impa admonished. The girl's eyes were locked onto the floor, but she hesitantly looked up and then quickly looked back down.

"Long enough, Mistress…" Paya shyly replied.

"You always know when to stick your nose in at the most inopportune times," Impa grumbled and then beckoned for the girl to join them. "Well, now that you know, you might as well try to be part of the solution. Zelda and Link managed to defeat Calamity Ganon, but now Link apparently is trying to murder Zelda. There must be something that might provide some insight as to this sudden madness that has overtaken the lad…"

Paya thought about it long and hard. Zelda found the meek woman a little annoying as she stood there tapping her foot, an index finger tucked under her slender chin. Finally her impatience got the best of her.

"Look, when I last saw Link, he was battling the ghosts of the champions and someone gave me this…" Zelda said, gesturing toward the Sheikah Slate at her waist. Impa looked down at the device.

"Two Sheikah Slates? This is strange indeed…" Impa said. "I'd say the best thing to do is go to the source. Return to where Link was revived, there may be some clue as to what made him turn on you there."

Zelda nodded, it made sense but a sudden dread threatened to overwhelm her. If there were two slates still in existence, Link could materialize near the village at any moment. Would he kill innocent people in order to get to her? She prayed to the Goddess that it wouldn't come to that. And to make matters worse, Zelda knew Link was a master with any weapon he picked up and she was a master of none. What chance did she stand against him in a fight?

"I see you are afraid, Zelda, and rightfully so… Link was the chosen champion for a reason," Impa explained. "And if he still lives, you are not safe anywhere as he can instantly travel to any place you can go. But I think that might also give you an advantage too."

"How so?" Zelda asked.

"If memory serves me correctly, and I hope it does, isn't there a way to reveal the Hero's path? You can view where Link is and where he is heading?" Impa said.

"It's true, Princess, the Sheikah Slate does have such a feature. Here let me show you," Paya interjected. She nervously approached Zelda and gestured toward the slate at her hip. "Open your map and I'll show you how to find it."

With a flick of a finger, the map of Hyrule materialized on the ancient device. Paya then pointed at an icon on the bottom of the screen. Zelda pressed on it and the map changed, lines materialized revealing where Link had been and where he was going. It took a moment to decipher all the intersecting lines but soon she realized Link was right where she had left him.

"He's still outside Hyrule Castle, in the valley where we defeated Ganon," she said breathlessly.

"Good, good…" Impa said.

"Unless he's dead," Paya muttered and this gave Zelda pause. The princess gazed over at the old woman, her once mentor.

"If he's dead, then at least you're safe, but we still must find out why he turned and I believe the answer can be found in the Shrine of Resurrection…" Impa insisted. Zelda nodded and gazed down at the slate, her fingertip hovered over the marker that represented the sacred temple where Link was revived.

The princess was about to touch the screen, to teleport to the chamber when she saw the Hero's path change. It moved from outside the ruins of her family castle and it spread across the map, zipping southeast until it stopped at Ta'Loh Naeg Shrine.

"Goddess, he's here!" Zelda hissed and Paya looked at the map with wide eyes.

"Princess, there is a bit of a delay I'm afraid…" Paya whispered and at first, Zelda didn't understand what she meant. Suddenly, she cried out when she heard the sound of shattering glass. Something blue and glowing crashed through a nearby window and rolled directly in front of Impa. The glowing blue orb stopped in front of the old woman and Zelda immediately recognized it.

"NO!" Zelda screamed, her index finger involuntarily landing on the slate. There was a blinding white light followed by an ear-shattering boom.


	2. Chapter 2

Zelda hit the ground hard, wisps of smoke issuing from her singed robes. The smell of burned hair filled her nostrils. For a moment, Zelda thought she was dead. Thrown into the afterlife in a single instant by a detonated rune. But when she heard the water dripping from above and inhaled the moldy air, she knew she was still alive. She was alive and in the Shrine of Resurrection.

"Link, how could you?" she whispered, sinking to her knees where she wept bitter tears. She knew Impa and Paya were dead. They were killed by the champion sworn to protect Hyrule. In frustration, she tore at her hair and beat the cold, stony floor of the chamber where Link had been healed. Maybe it would have been best if she had let him die…

"All is not loss yet, child," a voice whispered to her. It was the same voice that had spoken to her and given her the second Sheikah Slate.

"Hello? Who's there?" Zelda said and her voice echoed through the dimly lit corridor. But the only sound that answered was the dripping of water. She assumed it was raining outside, but she couldn't tell from where she knelt.

Nevertheless, she knew that sitting here feeling sorry for herself would not bring back Impa. She felt a pang of momentary guilt that she had been annoyed by Impa's assistant, Paya. So much had happened in such a short time and still she found time to judge someone she hardly knew. Zelda feared that she truly was a royal born brat.

Summoning what little strength she had left, Zelda picked herself up from the cold floor. She blinked once, twice and then started to regain her bearings. The sound of the rain was behind her, so she knew the actual chamber was ahead. She pressed a shaky hand against the smooth wall and started walking down the corridor.

The darkness gave way to a blue flickering light and soon Zelda could see the chamber itself. At the center of the room was the resurrection bed. A century ago she had helped Link climb into that bed and she had sealed him away, away from Ganon, away from the world so that he might heal and return to finish what they had started. Now she needed it to find out what had happened to change him.

A pair of sacred blue sconces burned near the stairway that led down into the chamber. They provided some light to the otherwise dark room. Fortunately, someone had discarded a torch near the foot of the steps so Zelda bent down, her knees cracking and retrieved it. She lit the torch and used it to light her way.

She approached the resurrection bed, flashes of memory started to drown out the present. Zelda saw Link lying against the bed which wasn't even a bed at all, it was more like a cocoon made of rock. Zelda placed the Sheikah Slate into the glowing orange portal to open the cocoon. And then she struggled to help her knight into the rejuvenating blue water located within the resurrection bed. The last time she had seen Link, at least before he had tried to kill her, he was staring at her with those sad blue eyes of his as the top of the cocoon slowly lowered. It had sealed with a hiss and she had fled, choking back tears all the while knowing that she had to now face Ganon all by herself.

The present came flooding back to her and the room seemed to grow brighter. Whatever it was it gave her a moment of clarity and she caught a glimpse of something underneath the resurrection bed itself. Going down on her knees, Zelda searched the ground until her fingers snagged what felt like a book. She dragged it out of its hiding place and saw that it was indeed a book of some sorts. However, instead of paper pages, they were thin sheets of metal. She sat on the cool stone and opened the strange book. The metal pages were imprinted with strange symbols, some sort of language that she had never seen before.

"How long has this been lying there?" she whispered into the darkness.

Zelda contemplated who might be able to decipher these strange words. She thought of a few possible candidates in the outlying villages. She was about to teleport using her slate when she noticed a glowing light radiating from the slate device near the stairwell.

She approached it and the slate on her hip began to hum. Lifting up the device, Zelda swiped a finger across the glassy screen and an image appeared. It was a still picture of the chamber but then it started to move. She saw Link and herself stumble into the chamber.

"This must be from a hundred years ago," she said. In the moving image, Zelda helped Link into the bed and then she disappeared from view. A moment later the cocoon sealed itself and the screen went black.

She was about to put the slate away when another moving image started playing. It was the chamber again, a blue light glimmered in the darkness and grew brighter and brighter. A moment later, a shadow appeared in the distance and approached the resurrection bed. It slithered across the wall and onto the floor toward the cocoon. Zelda held her breath as the shadow seeped through the cracks and disappeared into the bed where Link lay healing. Suddenly, a panel opened in the base of the cocoon and the metallic tome dropped out onto the floor, tumbling beneath the bed where Zelda had found it. The image then faded to black.

"What was that?" she whispered, her voice sounding alien to her own ears as it echoed throughout the hollow chamber. Suddenly a loud boom made her shriek, she glanced down the corridor and saw a flash of lightning in the distance. The storm was picking up she feared and she needed to figure out where to go next.

Zelda knew she could not return to Kakariko Village although she desperately wanted to. She had to know what happened but she feared that her presence there would incite even more violence from Link. She needed a safe place, a place where he couldn't find her.

She lifted up her Sheikah Slate and tried to find such a place. She considered Hateno Village as a possible alternative, perhaps the Sheikah scientist, Purah, would know how to translate the metal tome. It seemed her best option but then another boom distracted her. The lightning flashed sending a cascade of white light into the chamber, so bright that it nearly blinded Zelda.

When she was able to see again, there was a shadowy figure looming in the doorway. She blinked and then gasped when she recognized the blue tunic and the stony eyed gaze of the man who had once been her protector.

"Link!" she cried. "Please, let me help you, I saw something go into the resurrection bed with you while I was away. You are not yourself, I know that now!"

In the dim light of the chamber, she couldn't tell if Link was crying or if his cheeks were wet from the rain outside. She hoped it was tears that dribbled down his cheeks. If he had some memory of her, some remaining love for her, perhaps she could sway him to return to the light.

"I know you didn't mean to hurt Impa and Paya," Zelda said, stepping backwards as he entered the chamber. He gripped the Master Sword in his hand, his knuckles turning white from the effort. It was bad enough that he had attempted to murder her with the Bow of Light, a weapon that she had given to him, but it was blasphemy that he should consider using the sacred sword that banished evil to end her life.

He paused at the base of the steps, his eyes focused only on her. In all the time she had known him, Link had never spoken a single word. A fact that she found peculiar at first but as she came to understand the gentle yet strong young knight, she became fond of his silence. She found that she could have entire conversations with him not even saying a word. Her father joked it was because he was the perfect listener. Now she was terrified by his silence.

Link strode into the chamber, raising the Master Sword menacingly. The blue hilt glistened, the blade shimmered against the unnatural light. She wondered what might happen to the magic that imbued the blade should it draw her blood. It was a fleeting thought as Link leapt at her, his battle cry the only sound as the blade descended to end her life.

"The slate…use the slate…," the voice shouted at her and Zelda thought she recognized the voice. It was the voice of her father, it had been so long since she had heard him that she had nearly forgotten what he sounded like. Without thinking, Zelda raised the Sheikah Slate in her hand, not really intending to use it as a shield but somehow the Master Sword connected with the slate. There was a flash of brilliant white light and she heard Link scream.

Zelda was momentarily blinded, she bumped into something and fell to her knees scraping her shins against the cold stony ground. Feeling her way along the floor, her fingertips brushed against something metallic and warm. She picked it up, and found that her eyesight was returning. There was a shadow in front of her, something moved in the darkness and then she saw what it was.

Link stood over her, his sword poised and ready in his trembling hands. Zelda raised her hands defensively until she realized he could not see her. His eyes were swollen shut, red and irritated from the blast created by the destruction of the Sheikah Slate.

She tried to hold her breath, but she simply could not and Link instantly reacted to the sound. He sliced at her with the Master Sword, the tip of the blade came within a hair's breadth of her cheek. She scooted back, still clutching the item she had found on the floor.

Zelda shrieked as she bumped into something hard and cold until she realized it was the pedestal that had housed the original Sheikah Slate. She then glanced down and understood what she had found. It was Link's slate, and now it was the only one in existence.

Quickly, she tapped it and brought up the map. She clicked on the first shrine that popped up and instantly she was teleported out of the resurrection chamber and away from Link.


	3. Chapter 3

The princess materialized amidst a cluster of curious plantoid creatures. She quickly recognized the Koroks with their strange leaf-like masks. They chittered and cooed at her as she stumbled away from the shrine of Keo Ruug in the heart of the Great Hyrule Forest. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she tripped over a stray root and collapsed onto the ground. Instantly a cluster of Koroks helped her to her feet, some flew using strange twig and leaf contraptions. They assisted her as she stumbled through the tall grass and under a thick tree limb toward the Korok Forest itself.

"Princess?" a deep voice called from above. She looked up and saw the Great Deku Tree gazing down at her and that's when she realized she had stumbled onto the triangle shaped formation where the Master Sword had once resided in the Korok Forest.

"What has happened?" the wise tree bellowed. It felt like eons since she had stood in this place and yet the memories came flooding back. She had brought the Master Sword to this place, its power had been drained during the onslaught of the Guardians who had betrayed them all at Ganon's behest. The Great Deku Tree bid her return the blade to its pedestal so that it might regain its power when Link was healed.

"It's Link…" she muttered, fighting back a hiccup of tears that threatened to overtake her. "He's betrayed us. Betrayed me. He has tried to kill me not once but twice…"

"This is…dreadful news," the giant tree growled. His voice made the leaves quiver throughout the forest and Zelda noticed that the Koroks quickly went into hiding even the oversized Korok with the red maracas.

"I barely escaped with my life but I saw something, something that might shed some light as to why Link has turned on me," Zelda said, recalling the moving images. "There was a shadow. A shadow that invaded the resurrection bed where Link rested. I think it has made him … evil."

The Great Deku Tree regarded her with his hollow eyes, his mossy beard twitched involuntarily.

"If the shadow has consumed him, there is nothing that can be done except to destroy him," the tree said and Zelda's shoulders dropped in despair.

"But how? How can I destroy him? He's the hero of legend, of prophecy, he's the one who could wield the Master Sword and who was destined to defeat Ganon…"

"Princess," the tree said, "do not sell yourself short, you were just as pivotal in defeating the Calamity. Maybe even more so than Link himself."

"I merely held that monster at bay, each time he would gain a minutia of power, I would unleash the light of the Triforce and it would weaken him just enough that Ganon was forced back into the nest he had built in the ruins of my family's castle…"

"Ah, but it's that light that may hold the key to defeating the shadow that has claimed Link…"

An idea struck Zelda then but she quickly dashed it to pieces. If she only had the Bow of Lights, perhaps she could use it to free Link from the shadow that had twisted his heart. She wasn't half bad with a bow, she had been trained once upon a time.

"I still don't see how I can hope to defeat him…" she said and then felt something brush up against her leg.

At first, she thought it was one of the Koroks trying to comfort her until she realized it was something within her robes. She reached in and withdrew the strange metal tome. It felt as light as a feather, even though it was made of a shiny, seemingly enchanted metal. She opened the tome, unsure as to why she cared and she sifted through a few of the pages until she found a picture. It was an imprint of the Triforce or rather the symbol of the Triforce that stood before the Great Deku Tree and in the picture was the Deku Tree himself. Instantly, she looked up at the wooden sage.

"Deku Tree, have you ever seen this book before?" she hollered, her words echoing through the glen.

"I'm not sure, my eyesight is not as good as it once was," the Great Deku Tree said. "Bring it closer and perhaps I can tell you…"

Without a moment's hesitation, Zelda lifted up her robes and clambered up the mighty roots of the Deku Tree. She made sure to tuck the tome safely back into her pocket before she began the climb. At one point, she nearly slipped and cursed her blasted sandals so she kicked them off and finished her climb barefooted. Carefully balancing herself on the living limbs of the tree, Zelda held up the tome toward the Great Deku Tree's nose.

A wooden bead moved within the hollow space of the tree's right eye and settled on the tome. She couldn't tell if he was reading it until he spoke again.

"By the Goddess, this is an old book … almost as old as I am," he grumbled. "Can you open it for me?"

Zelda nodded and turned the tome to its first page.

"Good, good…" the Deku Tree bellowed. His wooden pupil seemed to scan the page and then the adjoining second page.

"I must read more, turn to the next page," he instructed and she did so. This continued for quite some time until she reached the back cover of the tome. Her muscles ached from clinging to the Deku Tree by the time he had finished reading. The sun hung low in the Hylian sky, the moon waited in the wings.

"You are tired, I can sense it," the Deku Tree said. "Climb down and sleep. We shall discuss this tome in the morrow…"

"No, no, I must know what you read. If it has any hint as to how we can save Link, I must know…" she said but the idea of resting her head and closing her eyes for a moment's respite was truly tempting.

"Princess, I'm not sure, I must think on it… please, you must rest before you collapse."

As if they had received some silent summons, the Koroks came to guide her back down to the forest floor. She was then led into the base of the Deku Tree where a bed covered in a leafy blanket lay to one side. Zelda stumbled toward it, collapsing onto the soft feather mattress before the Koroks could remove the blankets. She fell instantly asleep and dreamed no dreams.

The smell of something delicious finally made her wake from her wonderful slumber. It smelled tangy and spicy, fruity and nutty, it was a familiar scent with a hint of something different. Her stomach grumbled ferociously and Zelda was instantly awake.

She found a collection of steaming apple tarts on a green leafy plate. There was also a decanter of wild berry juice nearby and a platter with roasted acorns drizzled in honey and bits of spicy peppers for added flavor. Zelda fell upon the delicacies like a ravenous wolf and devoured every single morsel washing it all down with cup after cup of wild berry juice. Afterward she belched in a very unladylike manner and certainly no manner befitting a Princess of her status.

"Excuse me," she muttered and the Koroks tittered with laughter as they went about removing the platters, plates and decanter.

She wanted to confront the Deku Tree immediately but the Koroks pulled her toward a warm bath. The water was scented with fragrant flower blossoms. Her body practically ached for the refreshing water so she disrobed and gingerly climbed in.

"By the Goddess, this feels so good," she cried, settling into the oversized tub. After a good soak, a few of the Koroks proceeded to scrub her clean. Zelda wondered if they were male or female but found that in the end she didn't really care since it felt absolutely divine to be clean once again. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had a decent bath, at least a hundred years she thought.

When she was cleaned and dried, she found a change of clothing waiting for her on the bed where she had slumbered. She found some small clothes, simple brown breeches and a loose fitting white shirt along with a pair of worn traveler's boots. Zelda changed into the new clothes and then set out to speak once more to the Deku Tree.

She attempted to tuck the bottom of the large shirt into her breeches as the Deku Tree grumbled and cleared his throat. She feared that she had awoken the sleeping giant.

"Forgive me, Princess, I was still lost in thought, I'm afraid," he said. "Did you sleep well? Did you get enough food?"

"Yes, thank you, I truly needed it," she replied. "Now, tell me what you read last night…"

"Of course, of course," the Great Deku Tree said and she was surprised to detect a hint of apprehension from the wooden sage.

"What's wrong?" she asked when the Deku Tree went silent for what felt like an eternity.

"Forgive me, Princess, it's just … I'm afraid it's not good news for our champion nor…" and again he paused.

"Nor?"

"Nor for you, I'm afraid. You see, this tome is known as the Shadow of the Sheikah. It predates any of the machinations that they created that now cover the land of Hyrule. It's more than a prophecy, it's …well, it's a theory is probably the best way to describe it."

"A theory? A theory about what?" Zelda asked. Just then, a duo of Koroks appeared carrying another decanter of wild berry juice and a cup. They set the decanter and cup onto a nearby stump. Zelda muttered a quick thanks and poured herself a draught which she sipped at while the Deku Tree considered his next response.

"It's a theory about ending this cycle between good and evil," he finally said.

"Cycle? What cycle?"

"Surely you've felt it, Princess. The connection that you have with Link and even the Calamity … I mean, Ganon. You all are physical representations of the Triforce. You possess the Triforce of Wisdom, Ganon possesses the Triforce of Power and Link … well, he is the Triforce of Courage."

Zelda knew what the Deku Tree was talking about. She had felt it, it was why she had to aid Link in his original quest to destroy Ganon. It was why she was trained by her father, by Impa. Although thinking of those she had loved and lost, only saddened her all the more.

"The Sheikah's theory, and their idea of the Hero's purpose, was to end the cycle of the Triforce…" the Deku Tree said, his overpowering voice practically disappearing into a whisper.

"End the cycle of the Triforce? I'm not following you, old friend," Zelda said, setting down her cup of wild berry juice on the nearby stump.

"Princess, do you ever wonder why Link never says a word?" the Deku Tree asked. Zelda was taken aback by this question. She had wondered this many times, even attempted to ask Link during their many adventures throughout the land of Hyrule. At least before the great betrayal.

"Yes, I've wondered this," she answered. By now, she had taken a seat on the leafy floor near the representation of the Triforce and the pedestal that once housed the Master Sword.

"He comes from a long line of Hylian knights, a sect just as old as the Sheikah and this brotherhood was sworn to never say a word lest they reveal their true purpose…"

"And that purpose is?"

The Great Deku Tree did not answer, not at first. Zelda watched his mossy eyebrows undulate as he considered his next words. She imagined if the Deku Tree had fingers, he would be stroking his great green beard deep in thought. It felt like days had passed before he finally answered.

"There's no easy way to say this so I suspect the truth is the only way," he said. Zelda waited impatiently, the rest of the wild berry juice forgotten on the stump. "The brotherhood of Heroes, their first purpose was to aid the bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom, the Princess of Hyrule, in defeating the bearer of the Triforce of Power, namely Ganon."

Again, the Deku Tree went silent but Zelda could tell by the way his eyebrows kept shifting above his deep hollow eyes that he had more to say.

"And what was their second purpose?" she asked.

"The second purpose … it doesn't matter. You are safe here and here you will stay with us, it's best to forget Link and live out your life in peace and harmony," the Great Deku Tree blurted out. At least as quickly as he could blurt out anything. But Zelda couldn't accept that, she had to know.

"Please, tell me," she said.

"Princess, I…"

"Tell me!" she shouted and the Deku Tree went silent. She immediately regretted yelling at the otherworldly creature but she knew that time was running short. It was true that Link no longer had a Sheikah Slate to teleport across Hyrule but she also knew he was a very resourceful man. It was only a matter of time before he found them, she knew this in her heart of hearts.

"Very well," the Deku Tree sadly replied. "The second purpose of the hero, and perhaps the most important, was to destroy the Triforce of Wisdom and Courage once the Triforce of Power was destroyed. In other words, if Link kills you and himself, he can…"

"…end the cycle," Zelda finished the Deku Tree's sentence for him.

Suddenly, the Koroks began to chitter loudly as they materialized from their hiding spots. Zelda looked around frantically as they appeared from behind tree trunks and leafy fronds. The Deku Tree seemed to sense it as well, the wooden pupils of his eyes settled on Zelda.

"He's here," he said to her and she knew it was true even before he spoke.


	4. Chapter 4

From the depths of the woods, Link entered the sacred dwelling of the Great Deku Tree. Zelda gasped when she saw the bandages wrapped around his eyes, but it wasn't the bandages that truly made her gasp. Leading the way, with Link clutching onto the tuft of fur around its hairy neck, was a massive black wolf with silver markings and a chain around one of its oversized paws. The truly startling thing about the wolf were its blue eyes, the same blue eyes that Zelda knew were Link's own. At least until she had blinded him by shattering the second Sheikah Slate.

The massive wolf growled at her and Link withdrew the Master Sword from the scabbard on his back.

"I'm sorry, Princess, it seems that your decision has been made for you…" the Deku Tree said but Zelda barely heard him. She couldn't stop thinking of Link and all that he had suffered through. Sworn to a vow of silence, knowing that he would lose everything and everyone he had ever loved and yet continuing forward. Never faltering from his true purpose.

With Link's slate at her side, Zelda strode forward to confront her champion and beloved knight. The black wolf growled, his hackles rising as she approached but she ignored it.

"I know why you do this, Link," she said and Link jerked when he heard her voice. The Master Sword trembled in his hand. "I understand now, I've read the Shadow of the Sheikah or rather had it read to me…"

Her words deeply impacted Link or so she thought as a single tear rolled down his cheek. She thought she saw the blade in his hand falter, even if it was only for a moment.

"You do this for the betterment of Hyrule, for all of her people, it is the only way and I see that now," she said. At first, she doubted what the Deku Tree had told her but now, as she spoke the words, Zelda found herself believing. At least she wanted to believe. It was terrifying and yet somehow made perfect sense.

"Take my hand, Link, I know what to do now. Take my hand and trust in me as I once entrusted in you," she said reaching out with a shaky hand. For a moment, she didn't think Link would come to her. She feared he would sic that awful wolf onto her and she would feel its terrible teeth as it tore out her throat. Instead, Link broke away from the growling wolf and came to her. He reached out blindly and she quickly grasped his hand.

He began to weep when he felt her hand within his own. His shoulders shook as he cried, tears streaming from his inflamed eyes. He would never see again, Zelda knew this to be true.

"Is this what you really want? Is this the only way?" she asked him. She didn't expect an answer, after all he had taken a sacred vow to never reveal his true purpose. But he broke that sacred vow with one word.

"Yes," Link said.

His voice was hoarse and tired from never being used and yet it sounded like birdsong to her ears. She couldn't choke back the tears that threatened to overcome her. They fell and she allowed them to fall. Zelda couldn't help herself as she embraced him and kissed him mightily on the lips. His strong arms wrapped around her tiny frame and he held her tightly, she feared he meant to suffocate her with his embrace but eventually he relented and she could breathe once again.

"I know what needs to be done, Link," she whispered and Link shook with grief. The wolf sat on its haunches watching the two of them with a profound sense of sorrow reflected in those familiar blue eyes.

Zelda then lifted up the Sheikah Slate, the only one now in existence and opened the map of Hyrule. In the distance, she heard the fallen champions, Daruk, Mipha, Revali and Urbosa, cry out in one voice begging her to reconsider but she knew what needed to be done. She was a master of this device and so she selected a customized portal, one that did not exist but she made it so. And with one swipe of her delicate finger, she grabbed onto Link and the two of them for the briefest of moments became one as they transformed into pure light and disappeared from the Korok Forest.

When next they appeared, their light gathering into their corporeal forms, Zelda felt the overpowering heat from the volcano that was the gaping maw of Death Mountain. Amongst the clouds the two physical representations of the Triforce appeared, leagues above the molten lava below. They materialized above the volcano and then they began to fall.

"I love you, Link," Zelda whispered, clinging to her blinded knight.

"I love you, Zelda, now and always," Link said. His voice was fierce and strong. She knew this was his true voice and she felt a pang of sorrow that she would only hear that voice in their final moments together.

As they fell, Link lost his grip on Zelda. He frantically reached for her, his hands fumbling in the air to find her. She reached down, but not for him. With only seconds left of their lives, Zelda pressed a finger onto the Slate. She saw the concern on his face, his lips forming her name and then she was gone. Into the molten lava, Link fell but Zelda returned to the light.

She returned to the Korok Forest, shrieking and crying as she fell to her knees in front of the Keo Ruug shrine. Zelda screamed to the heavens, it was night now and a white moon shone through the canopy of the trees. She beat at the forest floor in agony, knowing that she had let her knight die after all he had suffered. She had betrayed Link and she had done it for a selfish reason.

During the 100 years she had battled with Ganon, all on her own, she had fleeting moments of clarity. She had hoped to live, to escape the prison in which she had entrapped herself with the vile Calamity. Zelda sometimes daydreamed that she would hold Link in her arms, kiss him, maybe someday marry him and have children with him. It was a stupid dream, but it kept her going when she longed to simply give up. And so, when he finally freed her from her prison, she wanted only to live another day, to see the sunlight, feel its warmth on her face and live. To just live.

When the Deku Tree had read to her from the Shadow of the Sheikah and had told her of their terrible theory, Zelda knew what she needed to do. It sickened her but she had to do it. She had lulled her true knight into a false sense of security, promised him that she would join him in oblivion and then she had delivered him into the fiery lava of Death Mountain.

"I'm sorry, Link," she said, struggling to wipe away her tears. Zelda picked herself up from the ground and stumbled toward the Deku Tree. The nightmare was over and she had to come up with a new plan, she had a life to live now.

As she passed the giant root overhead, she saw something that looked like blood dripping onto the forest floor. It created a waft of steam as it dripped from above. Zelda stared at it in horror, not fully understanding what she was seeing but knowing that it was something dreadful. As she entered the clearing, she found piles of dead Koroks, most torn to pieces, others hacked into splinters, scattered around the base of the Deku Tree. To her horror, she realized the Deku Tree itself bore deep gouges in his trunk and bloody sap dribbled from the wounds.

"Princ…princess…" he struggled to say until a shadow tore through his trunk, bursting outward from within the Deku Tree. The shadowy form landed a few feet from where Zelda stood.

It was a wolf, the same wolf that Link had brought into the forest and it was drenched in sap and Korok blood.

"By the Goddess," Zelda hissed, reaching for the Sheikah Slate at her side. It was her only true weapon that she knew how to use.

The wolf started to convulse then, twitching and arching its back as if to howl at the moon. It stood upright like a man and it began to resemble a man. Its paws turned into arms and legs, its snout shrunk into its head to form a man's face, shoulders appeared, its torso elongated and a shadow man stood before the Princess.

Zelda took a terrified step backward, forgetting to breathe for a moment as the man stepped into the shaft of moonlight that split through the forest canopy. It wasn't just any man, she knew this man. She recognized the face, now the color of onyx with glowing red fiery eyes. A twisted, curled black cap clung to his silver hair, he wore a tunic of charcoal with matching breeches and boots. In his hands, he clutched a blasphemed version of the Master Sword and a Hylian Shield. A cruel smile formed on his black lips as he stalked toward her.

"No, it can't be, you are dead," she whispered and then realized how foolish she sounded. This wasn't Link, she suddenly realized. There was something familiar about the shadow that now loomed before her, because it was the same shadow that she had seen enter the resurrection cocoon with Link 100 years ago. This was the shadow that had revealed the metal tome that she had brought before the Deku Tree.

"I don't understand, how is this possible?" she muttered.

The shadow Link nodded toward the exposed root of the Deku Tree. Zelda turned reluctantly and saw a message scrawled across the thick skin of the root. She couldn't tell if it was written in sap or blood but in the eerie moonlight it looked just like blood. And it was still dripping onto the ground.

"The…cycle…ends…now…" she whispered. Zelda turned back to confront the shadow when she felt a sudden pressure in her chest. A black blade jutted out of her breast. Looking up, she saw sadness reflected on the face of the shadow. It wept for her, a whisper no louder than leaves rustling in the wind.

"The cycle has ended," she coughed, clutching the Master Sword as her life's blood spilled onto the forest floor.

There was no pain, there was no regret, there was only a moment and then there was oblivion…


End file.
